As Egyptian women take to the streets of Cairo following a speech from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rumors mount back at home that she will (or should) become President Barack Obama’s running mate in the 2012 election.

Though this would boost the chances of the Democratic ticket in what promises to be a tough campaign, it is unlikely that Secretary Clinton would want to trade her current status as a global power player to roll in the mud of another polarizing national campaign for the chance to attend official funerals or break ties in the Senate.

1. She’ll promote global female leadership as a private citizen: Through the launch of her Women in Public Service Project, Secretary Clinton seems to be laying the groundwork for a global initiative aimed to promote female leadership worldwide, a path with a potentially larger impact than the one offered by the obstructionist realities of Washington, D.C.

2. She’ll stay away from messy domestic politics: Since she is constantly seen brokering successful diplomatic deals around the world while political bickering and legislative dysfunction drag down the president in Washington, it is no surprise that Clinton’s popularity is inversely proportional to Obama’s. She’ll keep it that way and preserve her political legacy by staying away from messy domestic politics.

3. She already paid her dues: Not even the party solidarity argument would convince Secretary Clinton of lending her image and good standing to increase president Obama’s reelection chances, especially when she wholeheartedly campaigned for him in 2008 after a brutal Democratic primary in which she was willing to deliver her delegates and supporters to an opponent whose credentials she previously questioned.

4. She’ll challenge the president: A least likely scenario involves the growing chorus urging Clinton to either challenge president Obama during a Democratic primary or simply be registered as a write-in candidate. Both options have been proposed by two former Democratic pollsters and purport to save the party as well as the country from a potentially more crippled and divided Obama second term.

5. She’ll continue serving as Secretary of State in an Obama second term: Though she’s previously expressed her intention of serving only one term as Secretary of State, another plausible scenario would be for Hillary to serve a second term if Obama gets reelected and finalize the work she started on the crucial global issues of our time such as the Arab Spring and the North Korean transition after dictator Kim Jong II’s death.